Most forms of art are meant to be admired from afar.  We look, we interpret.  We consider how beautiful it is or how it makes us feel.  However, there are entire schools of craftwork that open up art to a much greater definition.  Art for practical use.  Art that we can literally feel.  Art meant to not just be looked at, but to be touched, and more importantly, used.  Today’s guest, Josh Simpson, is one of the best in the world at one of the oldest crafts in existence, glass blowing.  Josh will teach us all about the basics of glassblowing and explain the difficulties of working with such a unique medium.

Us men are a pretty basic breed.  Many of us don’t fuss too much over how we look.  We’re in and out of the shower, grab some (hopefully) clean clothes, take about one minute with our hair (if we have any), and that’s about it.  But as most women will tell you, it can be fun to dress up.  It can be fun to add something to your style that complements your outfit in some way.  For women, there is a whole range of things that accomplish this.  For men, we pretty much just got watches, and what a great thing to have.  They can be so many things to so many people.  Need a little something to pull together your outfit?  Watches got you covered.  Need a statement piece that lets people know how much money or how in debt you are?  Some watches cost as much as houses.  Need something to tell you what time it is without having to take your phone out of your pocket?  Watches.  It’s no wonder that so many men, and women, get really into watches.  Today we talk with the two founders of Worn and Wound, one of the most popular watch blogs on the internet, about all things watches.

Kids these days.  All they care about is themselves and their Snapchats.  Too busy staring at their cellphones to even acknowledge anyone else.  I mean, where will the world be headed with this next generation at the helm?  Am I right?!  Psych! (that’s what the kids say these days) This week’s episodes showcase how off base and misguided statements like that can be.  In todays episode I speak with college student, and much smarter than me human being, Flavio Pacheco.  Flavio is a true testament to where having your head on straight at a young age, in a country like America, can get you.  After being born in America, Flavio spent the rest of his childhood growing up in Brazil.  He moved back to America by himself at the ripe age of 17 and started attending junior college with scholarships he attained.  Flavio proceeded to learn how to fluently speak English in only 2 years, graduated Summa Cum Laude from said junior college (while trying to learn to speak English), and is now on his way to a full ride scholarship at an Ivy League University.  He also locked down an internship as a lab research assistant to ultimately help people with high cholesterol…at a lab that, up until Flavio persisted them into submission, did not allow anyone less than a PhD student to be a lab assistant.  Again, all from a guy that didn’t even know how to speak English a couple years ago.  Grab some popcorn and prepare to feel bad about yourself, but hopeful for the future.

Kids these days.  All they care about is themselves and their Snapchats.  Too busy staring at their cellphones to even acknowledge anyone else.  I mean, where will the world be headed with this next generation at the helm?  Am I right?!  Psych! (that’s what the kids say these days) This week’s episodes showcase how off base and misguided statements like that can be.  In this episode I speak with a 16-year-old high school student that raised and saved money for a year so that he could participate in a volunteer program that helps children in Ghana.  Jack then flew to Ghana and spent three weeks teaching at a school, made bricks to help rebuild said school, and connected with formerly trafficked orphans in the community.  Again, Jack is 16.  Enjoy his positive mindset and let him assuage your fears about our youth.

Breakfast sure gets a lot of love.  Thanks to an almost 100 year old article in Good Health, most of us were brought up to believe that it is the most important meal of the day. It’s the most appropriate meal of the day to have our daily coffee or tea.  It sets the tone for our day, which means it basically sets the tone for our lives.  People like breakfast so much that they had to create brunch, just to keep the breakfast train rollin.  Most of us, however, would not write into a podcast to ask if we could discuss the hobby of being a breakfast enthusiast.  Most of us are not today’s guest, Anya.

Human’s are at the top of the food chain, and in fact, most of us are completely removed from the food chain all together.  We understand that our fruits and vegetables grown on farms, but we go to supermarkets to get them.  We try to suppress the idea of where our meat comes from, or spend copious amounts of money to get it from a relatively humane source, but no matter what we do we just get it from somebody else that does any of the heavy lifting for us.  Today’s guest, Stephen, likes to hunt and eats the animals that he himself kills.  Some might consider hunting cruel, but Stephen explains why getting back into the food chain changes your perspective and appreciation for your food.

Video games are pretty darn popular.  Americans spend about as much on games as they do on going to the movies and buying music, combined.  It makes sense then that game companies are constantly trying to figure out what the next hot game will be, and how to make it (enter Pokémon Go, episode 116).  However, for every great success, there are more great failures, and even more games that even got to see the light of day.  Today’s guest, Joe Martin, is a gaming journalist that like to research this lonely area of gaming, the history of games that were never released.  As they say, those that don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  So what has Joe learned?

Growth takes time.  Just ask an 8 year old boy who is smaller than everyone else in his class.  And success, well, success doesn’t happen overnight.  Just ask the founder of nearly every company imaginable.  But sometimes, very rarely, very very rarely, all the stars and planets align.  Sometimes you make a product that you hope people will like, and it turns out to be the product that seemingly everyone was waiting for their whole lives.  Sometimes you come to the realization that people just gotta catch em’ all. 

Is there anything more badass than being a ninja?  They’re stealthy, they wear all black, they’re the strong silent type.  However, to my amazement, there is something more badass.  Today’s guest is an emergency room physician AND he’s an American Ninja Warrior.  He’ll explain what it’s like to pull off the incredible feats of being a ninja warrior and tell us about his path for getting there.  There is quite possibly no better role model for children and adults of all ages.  If you’re growing weary of seeing advice posts on social media from people whose commitment to said advice is tenuous at best, Noah should be a nice breath of fresh air for you. 

We live in a fast paced world.  On the move, internally and externally, no time to focus on the little things around us that piece together our lives.  Sometimes, in rare moments of clarity, peace, or fatigue, we slow enough to appreciate some of what’s around us.  We fear that this slowing down will get in the way of our fast paced productivity, but I’ve found the exact opposite to be true.  It increases productivity as our true, more capable, selves often come out in the process.  Today’s guest knows all about slowing down and appreciating the little things every day.  He is a self confessed pen addict.  Brad will explain why pens are pretty neat, and how slowing down to write things by hand has helped him cope with the increasing pace of the world around him.

Knives (and other blades) are so essential to our lives.  Like, top of the life pyramid essential.   Yet, they’re so commonplace and fundamental that we completely take their existence for granted.  Want to not eat a whole cow all at once?  Knives.  Want to not grow your beard…forever?  Knives.  Want to get rid of that rogue tree growing in the middle of your driveway?  Knives. Perhaps it’s because so many of us use cheap knives and blades stamped by machines that we don’t seem to notice them very much.  There are however some amazing people that don’t take their existence for granted, and they make knives the good old fashioned way.  Today’s guest Jimmy will tell us all about the process of making your own knife (or sword) and give us plenty ofother info about these indispensable tools.

Have you ever been in a state of flow?  Complete and effortless focus in a single task, a merging of mind and body, all while not even thinking about it?  Flow states are a pretty buzzed about topic right now, and many people are trying to crack the code for educing a state of flow.  Which to me sounds kind of like forcing someone to fall in love with you.  There are however certain activities that really lend themselves well to bringing on a state of flow.  Competitive sports and ultra-marathon running for example.  But what about something for the non blue ribbon presidential fitness award winners of us out there?  Today’s guest explains the world of flow arts.  A super fun, deep, flow state stimulating world for all.

According to the great Ron Swanson, "Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets". This entire week of half hour intern would make Ron proud as it's all about the #1 non-clear alcohol in the world, whiskey.  Whiskey is such a great liquor to learn about as it is incredibly steeped in history, tradition, and lore.  Today's guest is the perfect instructor as he has surrounded himself with the stuff in both his personal and professional life, and knows whiskey better than most people could hope to in a lifetime. This is part 2 where Josh takes me through a tasting of 4 whiskeys that he brought over.

According to the great Ron Swanson, "Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets". This entire week of half hour intern would make Ron proud as it's all about the #1 non-clear alcohol in the world, whiskey.  Whiskey is such a great liquor to learn about as it is incredibly steeped in history, tradition, and lore.  Today's guest is the perfect instructor as he has surrounded himself with the stuff in both his personal and professional life, and knows whiskey better than most people could hope to in a lifetime. This is part 1 where Josh answers all kinds of questions and gives us a foundation of knowledge about whiskey.

Often times in nature bigger is considered better, more beautiful.  The ocean, the stars, the redwoods of Yosemite.  Likewise, smaller things can be considered cute, and fun.  Puppies, kittens, even baby corn.  The world of bonsai perfectly blends the two, taking what would be a full size majestic tree, and shrinking it down to pot size sensibility.  Today we learn about having the best of both worlds with Bonsai.

Going out for the night (or the day) can be great.  Sometimes you just need to get out of the house and explore.  As I get older though I realize that there is a time and a season for everything.  Just as nature has summer and winter, I believe we have our own internal summer and winter that can shift week to week, or day to day.  So what of winter?  What are we supposed to do when it’s time to wear sweatpants and stay in for the night?  Are we destined for Netflix and pizza?  Are we doomed to the slow and comfortable death of watching others’ lives play out in front of us while we eat cookies on the sofa?  Must we spend our winters in isolation?  Today’s guest, Wes Tomlin of Never Bored Gaming, reminds us of an often forgotten alternative, the surprisingly deep and vast world of modern board games.  Whether you’re in your own personal winter or summer; whether you’re feeling like a caterpillar in a cocoon or a social butterfly, there will always be a game for you.

Predator and prey, the circle of life.  Who needs that when I’ve got Whole Foods?  We may have used our brain power to remove ourselves from the food chain long ago, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t recreate the predator and prey roles for fun.  Is that ethical though?  Is there something sick and twisted about shooting a spear through a fish for your own enjoyment and meal?  After speaking with today’s guests I say absolutely not. The roles of predator and prey naturally give the predator a respect for its prey.  A respect that the rest of us living outside the food chain may try to empathize with and imagine, but can’t truly appreciate.  In a bizarre twist the rest of us are left with a respect for money, our source for food on the table.  Let’s hear from a couple of would be predators about the virtues (and fun!) of picking up the hobby of spearfishing.

Have you ever collected anything?  Sportscards, stamps, rocks; there are a nearly limitless number of things to amass.  Collecting can be such a great way to really appreciate something on a deeper level.  It usually requires lots of research and time on the part of the collector, and they become everyday experts on the field of their passion.  Today’s guests really prove that you can collect almost anything you put your mind to.  Kevin and Dan are obscure record collectors, focusing on the strange, kitsch, and swept under the rug records of the past.  They’ll explain why the obscure can often be so much more fun than the usual rare records people pine after.

Is there a more unforgiving sport than golf?  A more isolating, soul sucking, stare at the devil in the face experience than trying to hit a ball out of the sand only to hit the ball one foot forward, even deeper into the trap?  If it exists I sure haven’t found it.  Yet somehow, disc golf, a sport that shares the same name, rules, and terminology, has none of the same estranging experiences and steep learning curve that make golf so exclusive and bittersweet.  Disc golf is a sport that truly anybody can pick up and play, and on their very first outing have a really fun time.  A sport that, like a good board game, doesn’t have a correlation between skill and fun factor.  Today’s guest, Paul Ulibarri, fell in love with the simple yet sophisticated sport and three months after picking it up took home 4th place in the amateur world championships. Paul has since turned pro and now makes a living as a professional touring disc golf player.  Yes, Paul is a prodigy, and you probably won’t have the same life changing experience with the sport that he did, but he’ll explain why just about everyone could and should pick disc golf and give it a try.

Running, for reasons I personally can’t begin to imagine, is the most common and most popular sport in the world.  I suppose the barrier to entry is pretty low as everyone is born with the requisite materials to be a runner.  But have you ever tried running?  Do you have any idea how hard it is?!  If you haven’t run in a while, try running a mile this week.  There’s a 50/50 chance you’ll just collapse into an asthmatic blob after about 1,000 feet.  Yet somehow, every year, millions of people line up at starting lines all over the world to run marathons.  Forget 1,000 feet, we’re talking 138,336.  On purpose!  Even more impressive is the small population of ultra runners across the world.  They look at a marathon as a warm up, and start their races at 50k.  And the races go all the way up to, well, straight up Forest Gump style action.  And perhaps even crazier is that many of these ultra runners, like today’s guest Ryan Ghelfi, run all over rugged mountains and uneven terrain while doing this.  Some call it ultra running, some call it trail running, I call it totally insane, brave, and awesome.